To buoy high school cross country and track teams and ensure young runners can have a good experience with the sport, we’re giving out 25 Brooks Booster Club grants to schools in need of a gear and financial assistance. The grants provide performance running footwear and apparel as well as funding to under resourced high school teams across the country.

“At Brooks, we know that running is the most inclusive sport in the world,” said Brooks Sports Marketing Specialist Julie Wachter. “Our hope for the Brooks Booster Club is to clear the path for participation in running and ensure its accessibility so that young runners can have a lasting and impactful experience with our sport.”

Brooks athlete Gabriele Grunewald gives out new shoes at Johnson Senior High School.

Schools receiving grants this year demonstrated a compelling need for assistance: Circumstances included being part of a district in which the entire student population receives free and reduced lunch, a coach being asked to pay out of pocket for all meet entry and athlete “pay to play” fees as well as one school in which the nearest sports store to buy running shoes was more than 50 miles away. Brooks accepted applications for grants throughout the year from schools in the U.S. and also asked its roster of professional athletes including those on the Brooks Beats and Hansons-Brooks Original Distance Project teams to recommend teams in need of a Booster Club grant.

The grant each school will receive includes training and racing shoes, racing uniforms and warm-ups for a 30-person team and $2,000 to help with expenses including pay-to-play fees, meet entries, transportation costs, etc. Through the Booster Club, Brooks will have invested more than $1.2 million in cash and product by the end of the year, providing for upwards of 3,500 young runners since the program’s 2015 inception.

Staying true to our purpose of inspiring everyone to run and be active and to spread cheer during the holiday season, we’re calling on you to help expand the Booster Club in 2019 to benefit even more runners and schools. Through our partnership with Charity Miles beginning Nov. 16, you can use the app to join the running community in an attempt to run 10,000 miles. Once runners reach that goal, we will unlock a donation that will provide for Booster Club grants to two more schools next year beyond the 25 we will already donate to. Download the Charity Miles app here.

Brooks athlete Gabe Grunewald replaces an old pair of shoes with a runner at Johnson Senior High School.

The Brooks Booster Club is one of several programs designed to support runners from the ground up. Others include Inspiring Coach of the Year Award which recognizes and honors those who dedicate remarkable time, energy and resources to keeping their running teams strong, the Run B’Cause give-back program, which empowers Brooks employees to donate product and their own time to causes across the country, and numerous cash and in-kind donations.

About Derek

I’m a runner, a writer, and a shoe lover who enjoys morning coffee, travel, singing in the car, and getting legitimately lost on trail runs. Three things I can’t live without: bubble tea, Fridays, and my Brooks PureFlow’s.